Dark and Twisted
by SierryaSkye
Summary: After witnessing a devastating loss at the hands of the woman he had opened his heart to, Zuko snaps into a dark and twisted version of his former self, hell bent on exacting revenge. Meanwhile Katara has no idea why Zuko has a new interest of watching her writhe in pain. Dark Arts. Spirits. Torture. Angsty. M to be safe. Pic by SneachtaPix
1. The Game Begins

_**Dark and Twisted**_

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**The Game Begins**

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"_Have you ever felt that indescribable rush when you watch skin tear apart, when that beautiful crimson color is revealed from inside that ugly, continuously dying sack of meat?"_

One would be bold to declare that a single drop of blood could resonate loudly enough to be labeled as a "loud sound." Yet in the presence of a sole occupant in the dark confines of cell far beyond the surface of the earth, it would seem feasible. Drip. Drip. Drip.

"Meum sanguinem est vestrum."

Just as blood clings to skin then falls to produce a conspicuous sound, it holds a number of distinct properties which make it oddly unique. It is as viscous as syrup, yet flows as freely as water. It is bright red, yet it can ooze out as the darkest crimson color. It contains a complex combination of elements, yet is primarily composed of water. More importantly, a physical and symbolic nature of blood exists, which should come as no surprise. However, often enough people simply forget to think about what it is exactly that pumps through their veins and arteries. They forget what it means. Blood embodies the very foundation of our existence. It represents sacrifice, love, loyalty, punishment, birth, family, destruction, ceremony, tradition, death, pollution, redemption, promise—life.

"_Can you just imagine that stimulating sensation of a blade slicing through muscle like butter then grating across bone. I can. I used to revel in the sight of it oozing, it's metallic taste, the slippery feel, the pungent smell."_

"Surge fallax dux. Potentia et exitio in morte, et qui habitant in tenebris."

Only a prideful fool attempts to harness this life, and because this cardinal sin is within every living soul, there shall always be one who makes the fatal error and unknowingly sells their soul into eternal damnation. Blood, that individual's life force, is spilled and becomes the life force of the spirits and demons which wander the earth. What makes the ordeal even more pitiful is that there is no sort of equivalent exchange. There is no winning a deal with a demon.

"Parricidio, exstinguere sanitatis oboedire praecepto vero et princeps potes unum dóminans terram. Hoc est nugas, sed tenebris satanica carminibus non operari in minimam."

This foolish ambition to control life and manifest power is not what angers the demons. They know the imperfections and downfalls of man—it is the sheer ignorance and arrogance of humans which makes these monsters burn with hatred. One simply cannot control a demon, for they refuse to do the bidding of weaklings.

"_I can feel it now, and oh how I have missed it. But this time is different, more riveting. In that man's body, I feel his blood though I do not see it. I can hear his heart pounding. Pounding. Pounding. It's at my command. I can kill him in an instant, like the woman. Anyone of these arrogant heretics are at my disposal." _

Never in her wildest dreams would she have considered herself to fail and certainly she were no fool. Her whole life, she was in control of everyone and no one refused her. Her whole life's experience up until that moment turned against her in a moment of arrogant ambition. Only fools are positive, and only the ignorant attempt to control what they do not know.

"Eius psychotici consumens odio in cor perniciem super omnes ut perspiciatis hoc bestia."

It was impossible for her to comprehend what tragedy would come to pass, what blood would be shed, what darkness would consume the people around her. Neither did she know the ancient language she mumbled, nor the significance of the blood spilling from her forearm. The most she could understand at that moment was her position at the center of an eight foot summoning circle painted in human blood that was not her own.

"_I always liked puppets too. Can you just feel the overwhelming control, the power? Do you know what's it's like to manipulate people, I do. It's fun. I can even make them dance. Haha. Watch. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three."_

The blood stopped flowing freely until it dripped a drop at a time onto the center of a complex circular array of shapes and symbols. She slit her other forearm and squeezed out her life force with her opposite hand, twisting her arm downwards from her elbow across the cut to her hand. Blood dropped to the dark puddle at her feet. "Insania in vias daemonias et diabulus regnabo super nos. Foeda daemonium tibi sunt mea! Vincere mea nemesi!"

"_Do you know what it's like to kill? Why don't I show you. Nothing brings me greater joy."_

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"Thank goodness! Zuko!" Katara dropped the blanket she had been folding and ran at full speed from the campsite down a dirt road so worn over time it felt as if she ran on sand. "We were all worried about you!" She shouted as she ran and waved to his silhouette off in the distance. For a brief moment, she wondered why he didn't at least wave back to her, but she chalked it up to him just being tired. After all, he went missing all of the sudden and they hadn't heard from him in just over a week.

Her bare feet pounded on the soft terrain down a hill in excitement and she felt such relief that her companion had returned, but her feelings turned sour once she got close enough to make out the details of his attire. She stopped dead in her tracks, and could swear an ominous air blew in from his direction. Katara shivered and stared as Zuko walked in her direction, he had not changed his quick pace once since she sighted him and his face was turned to the ground. "Zuko?" She called out softer than before and out of breath, but loud enough to cover ever decreasing distance between them.

Katara's fighter instincts told her a battle was coming, but she didn't understand where this urge came from to reach for her water supply. An empty laugh rose from her chest as she attempted to talk to him again, "Come on, stop. You are creeping me out." He didn't react.

Katara saw the rise and fall of his chest, and she unconsciously synced her own heaving breathing with his. Fifteen feet away, he stopped and his eyes slowly were revealed from underneath his shaggy hair as he lifted his head.

When she saw his raw, red, and murderous eyes she bended the water from her pouch and got in a defensive pose. She didn't really think he was going to attack her, but she just wanted to be sure. "What's wrong?"

She took a brief moment to look him over, he seemed heavier, his shoulders were slumped, death was in the features of his face, hatred was in his eyes.

In a split second he shot a bright orange flame at her which rivaled the color of a setting sun, and ran around to her left and weaker side. She quenched the fire, but it burned so much hotter than his normal flames and caused her water supply to completely evaporate. Zuko made a clean, effective jab into her side with his fist and Katara yelped in pain as she tumbled to the soft dirt.

For what felt like a long time Katara stared up at him completely horrified at what just happened, her mind went completely blank. Her stomach felt non-existent, thick pain oozed from the spot he hit her throughout her middle section, and she was completely immobilized by shock.

"Get up, you dirty bitch! I _know_ you can take more than that." Zuko shouted and kicked her stomach hard enough so that she rolled over twice before stopping with her face smashed into the ground.

Zuko's tone was angry, powerful, and held a scorched earth policy. If his voice didn't have an defining and unique dark edge, she would have thought he sounded the same as when they first met.

Her momentary lapse in cognition disappeared when he grabbed her hair and pulled her up to a sitting position. She did the most daring thing she could have, and looked right into his eyes. "Zuko's something's wrong with you! This isn't who you are anymore." If she could have seen herself, she would have been disappointed at how upset she looked and how desperate her voice sounded.

He let her long hair slip out of his fingers softly.

"I'll say." A dark smile twisted over his face, and Katara cringed. He pulled her to a standing position by the wrist. "But sorry this is one hundred percent me."

Katara couldn't agree more, he didn't seem inebriated, possessed, or reluctantly following someone else orders, this was all him. All her companion. All her friend. And he wanted to see her to writhe in pain, that was as clear as day in his eyes.

With her wrist in his iron like grip, he heated his hand, and Katara felt warmth spread around her arm. It started out as a comforting warmth, then the temperature slowly increased to cause a slightly uncomfortable heat to permeate her skin. With every incremental degree emanating from the palm of his hand, panic began to swell within her, and she struggled to break out of the fiery grip. If she didn't remove her wrist soon, she would be in trouble.

"Please!" She tried to hit him off, but whenever she pounded against his firm chest he just squeezed harder and slowly crushed her bones. The temperature increased and she saw a glow appear around her wrist. The effect of the heat moved from discomfort to pain and her voice broke in a scream, "You're hurting me!" Just as she thought the pain couldn't get any worse, pure agony invaded all her senses and a shrill scream ripped out of her throat. "Kami! Zuko, let me go!" Tears streamed down her face and she could hardly breathe fast enough. She felt her skin crisp and the smell of burning flesh eventually made its way to her nose. She sobbed through her shouting, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

Not by her request, he let her go, and Katara took the chance to bend the smallest ounce of sweat from her body in a weak attempt to attack him. It evaporated before it left her finger tips, and he backhanded her across the face. She screeched in pain and reeled to the ground with a thud.

As soon as she hit the ground, Zuko was blown off his feet by a cool burst of air and landed five feet away from where he had previously been standing. He rolled before he hit the ground then jumped to his feet, as quickly as he fell, without using his hands.

From where she laid, her wrist still burning in pain, she saw Aang with a confused look on his face through her bleary eyes.

"What's going on! Why did you hurt Katara?" His voice shook with distress and concern as he quickly positioned himself between Zuko an Katara.

The fire bender transitioned seamlessly to an offensive position. Katara watched anxiously as Zuko's eyes flickered like a flame to herself and back to his opponent. The two locked eyes for a moment and the disgust was plain in Zuko's face, in fact Katara thought he looked like he was going to be sick. She tried to push herself up to help Aang.

Not wanting to grace Aang with a reply, Zuko snarled and shot a series of flames through his outreached fists. He followed his flame with such agility that Aang managed to dispel the flames, but he didn't even see Zuko side step him and dash towards Katara, who had just barely gotten her feet under her.

She knew he was coming though and had been preparing her counterattack. All her countless hours of practice paid off, as she controlled the water in the earth to do her bidding. Katara shielded herself from an intense barrage of flames and a thick white steam surrounded the two. "You're going to burn in hell for what you did." His voice was barely above a whisper, but Katara heard it. She shuddered when she heard him whisper again right beside her. "I'm glad I have someone to keep me company." She suddenly felt five quick jabs to her upper body and she went completely limp.

Aang dispelled the steam with a current of air, but the two were gone. "Kaataraaaa!" Aang yelled and his eyes burned with tears. He scanned the area and saw Zuko retreating to the left with Katara dragging in front of him as a human shield.

Katara felt so helpless as she got further and further away from Aang in Zuko's clutches. The creeping feeling started to come around about what he was going to do with her and she began to truly fear for her life. Though she was distracted from the thought when she felt Zuko's chest begin to rumble against her back. She vaguely heard Aang call her name again, but she could only focus on the humorless laugh, verging on psychotic, which cracked from Zuko's throat. Katara's dread stockpiled.

Zuko had tried to contain his laugh, he honestly did, but he found it inconceivable that the little whore currently in his arms had been able to worm her into both of their hearts. If he weren't consumed by so much hatred, he might have found some pity for Aang, the kid was too enamored to see her for the conniving, black-hearted little wench she was. "Aang…" Katara's soft croak, made Zuko burst out in a manic laughter. It was just so damn funny! He had come with a plan, but now that he had her, he felt like throwing that plan to the fire. He wanted to do so much to her right then and there, torture her, burn her, cut her, drain that pathetic glimmer of ever present hope from her eyes, make her scream even more.

The way she had cried and squirmed when he burned her wrist—it was exhilarating. Caught in the moment Zuko let go of Katara and, not being able to support herself, she collapsed to the ground. He bent over with his arms wrapped around his stomach and laughed.

Aang and Katara shared a bewildered look as they listened to Zuko laugh hysterically. 'He's not himself' would be the understatement of the year.

"Hahaha! You know what Aang? I'm doing—Haha—you a favor, really. Hahaha! You don't have to learn the hard way now."

Aang found himself in a dilemma, maybe Zuko was just sick or something and he couldn't help what he was doing. He wanted to believe with all his heart that Zuko hadn't betrayed his group again. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would try not to hurt him.

Zuko continued to drabble on nonsensically, at least in the two's perception, "You are going to thank me later. It's just too bad that I couldn't have figured it out earlier."

Aang inched towards Zuko fully aware that if wanted, Zuko could reach Katara on the ground before he got the chance to save her. "What did you figure out Zuko?" Maybe if he could continue to distract Zuko, he could make his move. That's all Aang could hope for.

The demented laughter fell to a hollow chuckle and Zuko hung his head. The closed fists at his sides tightened and he exhaled deep red flames. "Ever since the beginning she's been toying with us, to get us at our weakest then strike." He looked up with shining his eyes. "She's a killer, and I am going to do whatever I want with her until I am satisfied, until she pays!" The sad emotion vanished a moment later, but Katara and Aang had seen it clearly.

Zuko smiled again, "That's right." Katara felt his hands lift her up again and an intense heat inches from her neck. A small flame blew from his pointer finger right towards her skin.

"Please," Aang put his hands up in surrender and cried out, "I'll do anything you want!" But it wouldn't make a difference.

Zuko shook his head. "Sorry. She's mine. Take one more step and she dies on the spot." Zuko said flatly. He felt Katara struggle as weakly as a child in his grasp and he started laughing again. "Though I can't say she'll be alive the next time you see her anyway."

"Zuko stop this right now!" Fully aware of himself and his power, Aang called on the spirits of the past Avatars and a blue light shined from his eyes and arrows. "Ah ah ah." Zuko chided and Katara's piercing scream tore through the air as he touched the concentrated flame to her neck. "You're hurting her Avatar." Aang's heart pounded to a standstill.

The bright blue light faded from Aang, and Katara saw the meanest expression cross over his face she had ever seen. She stared in awe at his display of anger that did not suit the eyes of a fourteen year old boy. It scared her almost as much as the prospects of being in Zuko's arms. Zuko started to retreat with her as a shield once more.

Aang spoke in a uncharacteristically venomous voice. "When I find you, I am going to hurt you in the same way you hurt her tenfold. You are going to wish that I had shown mercy and ended you."

The threat didn't faze Zuko, in fact he was glad to see the eyes of a killer replace Aang's naïve ones for once. It was about time he grew up, especially when the life of the girl he loved weighed in the balance.

"And the hunter has become the hunted." Zuko continued to walk away with Katara pulled close to his body, and the chuckling commenced. "Let the games begin."

Zuko dragging Katara away was the last sight Aang saw as he stood there in a storm of emotions.

Only for Katara to hear, Zuko breathed, "Say good-bye. You're mine now."


	2. Sinking In

**Sinking In**

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A/n: The **rating has changed to M** just to be safe. **Please note:** Honestly I have read some nasty stuff rated M and this story probably won't be on par with that, which is why I was reluctant to change it in the first place. But who knows. Man, back when I was a young teen on this site, horribly explicit scenes popped in T stories all the time...Anyway.

Oh and ASDFJKL;DIFSLFJAD LEGEND OF KORRA SEASON FINALE. There was much fangirling this morning.

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"Hey watch it!" Katara pushed her head off the ground and snapped her ice cold eyes to Zuko who hadn't said anything since they escaped. "Aang is going to find you and when he does, you are going to regret doing this."

"Shut your damn mouth woman, unless you want to die right now." His eyes told her just how serious he was and she shut her mouth with an audible click. Katara groaned as he tied her hands behind her and pulled them back further than her body would comfortably let her.

The setting sun cast a warm orange glow over the surrounding forest area, and a nervous energy started to take hold of Katara. Something was more than off with Zuko. As much as they had fought in the past, before he joined their group that is, he had never spoken to her the way he did now. He practically spat hateful words on her with syllable he uttered. Every time those piercing gold eyes looked at her, she saw this desire to rip her limb from limb. Unable to contain herself, the question blurted out of her mouth before she could stop it, "What is it you hope to achieve by capturing me? Is this some kind of play to capture Aang?"

He smirked evilly and his eyes glimmered with the light of the tiny campfire he had lit ablaze. He bent down next to her and Katara started to scoot herself away. "You can't intimidate me." She raised her chin proudly and stared him down.

'_Really now._' He reached out with one hand and squeezed his hand around her slender neck, making sure to put dig his thumb into the second degree burn. The pain of burn came back full force and in addition she started to go faint from lack of oxygen. However, she refused to utter a sound, a cry, or a whimper. Zuko's jaw clenched and he jerked his hand away. "You will break soon enough. Just like before." He released her and she choked as she attempted to use her crushed wind pipe.

Zuko took a deep breath and sat down with his back to her. If he didn't calm himself down he would kill her tonight for sure. That wouldn't be any fun. Besides he had to be in full alert mode incase Aang found him. Zuko and Katara had been marching for five solid hours, but the distance they covered was minimal considering the distance the flying bison could cover in mere minutes. Aware of this fact, Zuko had first hunted down the water tribe fool and the earth bender, whom he barley subdued, when they left Katara alone at the camp ground. Needless to say, Aang would be preoccupied with helping them for a while.

"Why…" she coughed, "hold back Zuko?" Katara laid on the ground breathing heavily, yet she still resisted. "What you can't kill the lowly whore?"

His eye twitched. He was making an honest effort to restrain himself, but this woman had a death wish. Five minutes later, when he realized she would never stop talking, threatening, questioning, or insulting him, he poured a green mixture from a small vile into her water flask that he grabbed when they came upon a stream a mile back.

He stood up and sauntered over to her. "We leave in three hours. Get any ideas and they will be your last." He opened the container and put it to her lips. Not seeing what he did, she drank her first ration of water in hours eagerly.

The second he turned away she stood on her knees and spit at his back. Turning his head he saw pride and determination once again flash in her eyes, and Zuko had enough with it. He liked it better when she feared him, of course he did always appreciate a challenge. He drew his swords and spun around gracefully. Katara gasped. With two slices he slit her water tribe tunic, and it cascaded to the ground as he sheathed his weapons. She now only wore a wrap around her chest and tight black leggings.

Her eyes widened in fear, if he had cut any deeper she would be bleeding right now… but… she started to panic, '_is this what he wanted me for? I- I know him, he wouldn't…_'

"Don't flatter yourself." He spat on the ground beside her and his hands drew out the swords again. "But that pride of yours needs to be adjusted." He smirked yet again when he saw her struggle to free her hands of the bindings.

He slit the wrapping around her chest and her breasts fell from their pushed up position. Her cheeks flared red, but she didn't attempt to turn and hide herself. "You're a monster! The moment I get out these bindings is the moment I split open your skull with the nearest rock I find!"

Being a teenage male, and previously interested in her, he realized that this might not have been his best plan, but his hatred towards her extinguished any flare of desire within him. The idea of touching her was so revolting his stomach churned. Whatever the effect on him, it would send Katara into a panic, and that was well worth it. Knowing her for so long, he found out her many weaknesses. "Do your worst. No matter what you do, you won't break me!" The glistening of her eyes and extra note higher in her pitch verified his hypothesis. She was spiraling. Quickly.

"Out of all that nonsense you spouted, you were dead on about one thing." He pushed her head back and she fell on her butt, the momentum of falling back sent her feet out in front of her. "I am a monster." He swept his foot around in a circular motion causing a ring of fire to explode from his feet. The flame burned through the souls of Katara's shoes and there was just enough remaining fire to lick the bottoms of her feet before it vanished.

She hissed, but once again refused to show her pain in his presence. After taking a moment to recover she snidely commented. "You really are an idiot. I won't be able to walk now. How are suppose to travel if I can't even stand?"

A lot of fun ideas popped into his mind when she said that. He got down to her level and picked her up to sitting position by the shoulders."Oh, you will figure something out. I'm sure." He whispered as he moved his face closer to hers. Their noses were only an inch apart when he stopped and lifted a finger to capture a tear that ran down Katara's cheek.

Katara's heart hammered in her chest and her breathing was labored from the pain shooting through her feet. It felt like someone was slicing through them with a burning knife. She stared at the tear on Zuko's finger and was shocked, she didn't even realize she had started crying. She hated him. She hated him so much. She never should have trusted him. She had nearly fallen for this monster. '_Aang please save me._' Katara's lip quivered and tears started to pour down her face.

"Now, now." Zuko whispered into her ear with his deep airy voice. "The fun hasn't even started yet." He replaced his hand on her smooth shoulder and slowly moved it downwards, letting all five of his fingers trail down to her rapidly rising and falling chest. Heat emanated from his hand and she felt a dull burning sensation deep in her core when he groped her.

"Get your hands off me!" She shook her shoulders and the bindings rubbed her writs raw as she tried to break free, but he continued to touch her. He moved his wandering fingers down her abs slowly grazing past her belly button causing her to shiver. Not for one second did he break eye contact with her, he didn't want to miss the fear and disgust pooling in her eyes.

Katara feebly cried and shut her eyes tightly, "Zuko," her voice was thick, "please… stop." He paused. She sniffled and let her head fall forward. Her hair spilled over her chest and tickled his arms. "I don't know what I did…just stop."

'_She doesn't even know._ _She doesn't KNOW?! How can she not know? That's impossible, I saw her. She has to know!_' "Don't lie to me!" He raised his voice and she cowered in fear. He lifted her chin roughly and commanded her to open her eyes. Katara didn't want to, but she obeyed. So long as his filthy hand quit roaming her body.

"You will feel revolted by the disgusting burns all over your body, polluted by the eager hands of thieves and criminals who will come to spend nights with you." Zuko gripped her face harder and Katara squirmed. "You will feel entirely useless without the ability to bend, you will ache everywhere, and eventually you will lack even amount of strength to lift your head to eat."

He breathed hot air in her face and raised his voice yet again. "You will cry in pain, hatred, and rage every second of every day until you finally break and that determined fire I used to like about you inside you flickers and is smothered to death. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't try to end yourself first before I finish with you." He returned both hands to her shoulders like he did when he first lifted her to a sitting position. His voice dropped an octave, "Welcome your own personal hell." He pulled her to him and head butted her.

She fell back to the earth unconscious and Zuko pushed himself off the ground. He sighed in relief. "Never thought that annoying bitch would shut up." He brushed some dirt off his shoulder and sat by the small fire.

Zuko reached into his nearly empty knapsack, and pulled out his uncle's old tea pot. As he boiled water from his canister for some tea, he stared at the fire angrily. He could hear his uncle condemning his actions, especially since he had been fond of Katara, but Zuko couldn't go back. No, he wouldn't. Revenge was the only path to happiness he knew to follow, or at least a way to closure. By the time the tea was ready, his thoughts had shifted to Mai. Even though he had broken off their relationship, he still cared for her so much. They had been childhood friends for as long as he could remember, and she was the first person to love him besides his mother. Now she was gone too.

He frowned when he tasted the tea, Uncle somehow always made it so much better even when Zuko copied his method. Two of his most important people had been taken away from him in an instant, he was still coming to terms with the fact that nothing would ever be the same.

The hatred and rage he felt before seeped out of him as he stared at the friendly fire and focused on their memory. Katara would feel all the pain he felt, that was the only reason he continued living, or that's what Zuko told himself. Yet, as he sat there silently, the burning desire to watch her suffer faded to merely an idea. It was like some extra push had been making him act on his raw desire for revenge, but now his previous longings seemed insignificant and irrelevant. He couldn't explain it, but without that drive propelling him forward he experienced such an unbelievable sadness, he felt useless and empty.

He never made a conscious recognition of the couple drops that fell into his cold cup of tea.

TIME FLEW BY AND ZUKO SNAPPED out of his trance when he heard Katara stir behind him. Hurt and rage replaced his previous gentle thoughts in a flash at the sight of her long brown hair, tanned skin, and vulnerable body. He stood up and kicked her in the side for a good-evening wake up call. "Get up." He unbound her hands.

"You have one minute to go to the bathroom and cover that disgusting body of yours. Attempt to escape and… well use your imagination."

Katara was silent. In reaching for her clothes she was disheartened to find her tribal clothes in tatters, but she expertly tied the cloth together for a make shift shirt. She continued to look busy and waited pensively for the opportune moment to move.

Zuko knew she was being too quite, this was Katara after all. She never stopped bitching. That was the one thing he learned in all their travels together. So Katara failed to surprise him when she snuck away.

The moment Zuko extinguished the flames of the campfire she sprung from the ground and bolted into the forest. As she ran at a heart pumping speed away from the camp ground, she felt a chilling wind hit her usually well-covered skin. Considering the circumstances, Katara was surprised to feel a little hope return within her as she headed deeper in the forest and away from Zuko. Since the camp fire had gone out, the scenery changed and grew darker, moonlight shone through the trees and highlighted the area in an eerie blue light.

White hot pain shot up her legs every step she took, but she suppressed the pain and focused on escaping. Katara was determined to get away at all cost. However, her feet protested and she couldn't get them to function properly, which caused her to stumble over roots and large stones on the forest floor. Truly, the event seemed to her like she was a small animal breaking out of the snare of some ferocious beast. Of course, she knew that story never had a happy ending.

Her mind was going at a mile a minute. She had to escape and find Aang. She needed to find a source of water. She needed to find a clever place to hide, because she knew she couldn't out run Zuko in the forest. Look up "failure" in the dictionary and you would find his name, but she couldn't mock his mastery of the hunt. If she didn't think of something quick she would be back in his clutches. She shuddered at the thought.

Waking up on the ground, half naked, and him before her made everything real, really real. The dire situation sunk in for her right then. She realized the amount of danger she was in, and wondered what in the world she had done to piss Zuko off to such an extent. No, not pissed off, hell bent on making her suffer and ready to enjoy every second of her writhing in pain.

Tears started to fall down her face and muddle her vision, yet she continued to run. Zuko had changed. Only a month ago he was perfectly fine. Perfectly good. Dare she say, she thought they had some special connection. He was not even this bad when they first met on that fateful day so many years ago. Whatever warped him had something to do with her and she was terrified, she had no idea what in the world was going on. She would be lucky to survive, that's the only piece of knowledge she had confidence in. Scratch that she knew something else, she wouldn't break down into tears in his presence again. She would not be caught off guard or cling to that sliver of hope that the entire scenario was some cruel joke. The betrayal was ripping her heart in two, but she forcefully shoved the feelings aside.

A branch whipped across her face and crimson blood trickled down her once flawless cheek. It didn't even register in her mind. She hardly noticed the pain in her feet either. She was too preoccupied as her eyes darted from place to place desperately searching for a place to hide. She ran for seven minutes straight in perpetual fear that Zuko would appear behind some tree and burn her for running away.

Suddenly she quit fooling herself and realized something.

He should have caught her by now. '_Where is he_?' At the loss of concentration, she tripped and scraped the palms of her hands on the rough earth. She jumped up and scanned the moonlit area again. She heard a koala-owl hooting off in some tree to the right, the sound of wind rustling through the trees, and her own breathlessness. Save for all that, the area was virtually silent.

A chill ran through her body. '_This is a game to him_.' Terrified more than she had ever been in all her life, she ran through her water bending forms to collect water from the trees and other plants. Dread chilled her to the core when nothing happened. She repeated her movements and concentrated harder. She had done this countless times before, it should have been a cinch. '_My bending is gone_.' Her arms dropped to her side in defeat.

She felt something move behind her, and she snapped her head around. Her heart beat quickened. '_He's watching me_.' Now aware of this fact, she felt his eyes upon her. He was waiting to pounce.

Hesitant to make another move, Katara debated with herself. Calling out to him would spare her the psychological warfare, yet going back meant torture and possibly death. She decided to continue deeper into the woods. There was a chance she could get away, albeit slight. Really though, anything beat standing idly by as he laughed at her frailty whilst hidden in the darkness.

One careful step at a time she continued onward. Something grazed across her arm and she turned around in a panic, but realized it was only her long hair. She sighed in relief, but there was a hitch in her breath when she felt a rush of warm air blow at her back. It took a second or two for it to register. It was roughly sixty-five degrees outside.

There was a hair raising pause in which Katara closed her eyes. She imagined that the good Zuko was standing behind her with the devious smirk he wore back when she yelled at him for "accidently" burning her tent down, or taking her extra portion of food, or purposely falling asleep on watch duty just to annoy her. Katara would have given anything to see that satisfied smile he gave when he successfully set her off in a tirade. The sentiment left as quickly as it came.

"Found you." Zuko whispered in her ear.

'_Not a devious smirk. A cruel devilish grin._'

* * *

Hey, I just met you

And this is crazy

But this story's lonely

Review it maybe?


	3. Treading on Fire

**Treading on Fire**

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A/n: Generally speaking, thoughts are _italicized._

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A scream ripped out of her throat before she could clench her jaw shut to stop the shrill noise. Her whole body flinched and her arms immediately flew over her head in attempt to shield herself from the oncoming attack.

A short time elapsed and nothing happened.

She cautiously opened one eye at a time and found no one had been behind her. All of the anxiety was nearly too much for Katara's sanity, she honestly questioned whether or not he had even come up to her, but she reassured herself, '_No he was there. I felt him_.' She spun in a circle pensively, waiting and watching for him to advance again. Nothing came out to greet her, so she decided to throw out a taunt to see if he would expose his location.

"Why don't," Katara mentally cursed when her voice cracked unintentionally, "you come out to face me and quit playing games like a child?"

Out Zuko came, even though he so enjoyed watching her flinch at every sound or any movement in the forest. He emerged from the dark with his head ever so slightly tilted down so that he had to move his leering eyes up to meet Katara's gaze.

'_Speak of the devil._' The common phrase seemed to take on a completely different and precise meaning.

As he stepped into the moonlit area, the shadows that clung to his body receded, but his eyes remained shaded due to both the angle of his head and the bangs that hung in his face. "You don't like games?" His voice retained that all too familiar airy and dark tone that made Katara shiver. "That's all you do, play mind games and toy with people's emotions. You manipulate everyone around you according to your whims. I mean really, you are _still_ leading poor Aang on, it's pathetic to watch."

The closer he got, the faster Katara's heart pounded in her chest and the more distinct the Cheshire Cat-like smile on his face became. She didn't know what angle was hoping to achieve by bringing up such a random topic, but she didn't doubt his insanity was getting the better of him.

"Oh and the best part of it is when your 'talent' backfires." Katara noticed his shoulders started to shake. "You act betrayed and hurt just because the men you throw yourself at and try to change don't melt in the palm of your hand. For someone so gifted in the art of betrayal and heartless manipulation, one would think that you could anticipate it being used against you." He laughed, but it didn't sound like true laughter, it was menacing and mocking. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees while he shook with laughter.

"Haha, man you were so torn up over Jet after you knew him for what, less than a week. I still remember your face. And especially after our private little meeting. So melodramatic!" He raised one hand above his head and rested his opposite on his chest. "I trusted you, and you betrayed me! Oh I am the world's sole victim, the world conspires against me." He dropped his hands and stood in place a couple of feet in front of her. The laughter died off, but the smile did not.

"That is not true!" Katara yelled out hoping a generic response would stall the inevitable, while she was listening, she wasn't making an effort to reply seriously. Scenarios of the best method of attack or escape flashed through her mind instead.

She heard Zuko chuckle and wondered what sadistic and senseless reason he had to laugh this time. "You know," he started, "People who don't use contractions when they make a statement like that are lying. They feel some compulsion to put emphasis on _not_."

'_He's totally off the deep end_.' Ignoring his comment, Katara very nearly smirked, at least she now knew why he was after her. She planned to make her little realization known to him, "Who would have thought the almighty Prince Zuko was so fragile. Aww, did I break poor Zuzu's heart and trample all over the shattered pieces? Is that why you're after me?"

Katara recoiled backwards when he took a couple long strides to her, and his creepy smile fell to a frown. "Do you really want me to imagine Azula's face alongside yours? Think about it for a moment. In case you couldn't tell we aren't on the greatest terms. Next time I saw her I planned on peeling her face back over her skull, maybe I should do that to you."

Zuko stopped five inches in front of his victim. He could just hear the unspoken words of hatred sitting on Katara's lips. He imagined Katara crumpled on the floor screeching in pain, a wonderful sight indeed. Zuko could practically feel the blood of the woman standing before him pouring over him and soaking into his skin soothingly. All the possibilities for fun made him want to attack, damn the consequences. He couldn't believe he lost the desire for this that moment only a little while ago.

Katara felt like an animal about to be taken to the butcher. With his detached stare, obviously he was contemplating which cut of meat he wanted, so Katara made her move. She threw a combination of punches at him, but he dodged them all easily, and then caught both of her hands above her head. "Wow, that attack sucked." Zuko smirked.

"You didn't deny what I said before. Say it isn't true." Katara pressed, and tried to not let the fact that she couldn't so much as scratch him intimidate her further.

Their noses almost touched at their close proximity, but Katara couldn't move away no matter how much she wanted to. She didn't like being so close to him, it hurt, physically, of course, but emotionally too. They had been nearly this intimate a short while ago. Katara mentally blocked herself from reminiscing again, it was too dangerous to think about the old Zuko. The old Zuko, who she had at one point hated, had become the man she entrusted her most personal thoughts to, the man she would feel the safest around, the man who seemed a little bit more overprotective than necessary. It couldn't register in her mind, that the man standing so close to her was someone else entirely.

Zuko eyed her incredulously, "You can't honestly believe this is over a broken heart, over you damaging my pride. Somehow you've twisted the situation to revolve around you yet again, why am I not surprised. Listen up, this has nothing to do with your god complex, princess." Hot air rushed across her face when he exhaled angrily.

"Then why bring any of this up in the first place?" She struggled to remove her hands from his grip above her head, it was useless. The more she fought the harder he crushed her hands in his.

"Just to screw with you. Anyway, it doesn't have to be my motive for it to be true. I thought I would just clear up the reason why you can't have any intimate relationships, only whores are attracted to dangerous men," he winked with his good eye and praised himself silently when he saw her eyes spark with fury at the implication.

Katara didn't let any of the insults prevent her from trying to draw out information. "Fine, if that's not the reason I'm here, then what is? You said I did something, but I don't have the slightest idea of what you are talking about!" She yelled in his face and she swore she heard a growl roll deep in his throat.

It seemed like the small part of him that wasn't crazy departed, leaving behind the blood thirsty monster.

"Then I'll beat you until you do! I swear if you ask that question again, I'm going to burn your face off!"

She pushed against his hands as he shook her arms violently. Neither one of them spoke, they just fiercely stared at each other as they had reached an impasse. An idea finally came to Katara, she knew it probably wouldn't work, but she had to try.

Katara spit in Zuko's face, and just before he opened his mouth to lashed out she went completely limp while her hands were still ensnared in his grip above her head. The shift in body weight wouldn't have normally affected Zuko, as he was strong enough to hold her up, but he was caught unaware by her "fainting". Thus his balance was thrown off slightly when he didn't let go of her hands for that fraction of a second. By the time he let go he lost his grounded stance, and when Katara fell to the ground lifelessly she sprung back up and kicked Zuko's feet from under him. She managed to pull out one of his swords as he fell and pointed it straight at his neck as he laid back on the ground.

"Maybe you shouldn't have given me all those self defense lessons." She said haughtily. For the first time she was in control, it made that foolish glimmer of hope inside her resonate once again.

He mimicked her by increasing his voice an octave. "And maybe if you had actually paid attention instead of checking me out," he continued in his normal voice, "you would have actually learned something. Feh, don't get cocky."

"You arrogant son of a bitch. How dare you!" '_I did not!'_

Zuko didn't react to the insult, he just laid there staring blankly at her, "So what now Katara?"

"I'm thinking I will put a scar over your other eye." She caught a glimpse of the white moon reflecting in his eyes. For all the pain he put her through, that seem fair. She did feel that it was such a pity to further desecrate that handsome face, too bad its only purpose was to disguise a demon. A large gust of wind swept through the area and the leaves on the surrounding trees fluttered.

"Why don't you just kill me, save us both the trouble." Zuko knew her naïve sense of forgiveness and pity would come back to hurt her. Besides, he doubted she would actually hurt him, at least not with a sword, it wasn't in her to cut someone open.

He watched expectantly as her eyes changed from one's with vicious intent to the eyes of naïve young woman too weak to take a life. Even if taking that life meant she would live. When her arm fell somewhat and he saw Katara hesitate, Zuko kicked the blade out of her hand and lunged forward to drive the heel of his palm into her stomach. Blood sputtered out of her mouth and sprayed onto his face. Katara wrapped her arms around her stomach and fell to her knees coughing blood onto the ground.

Zuko stood up and scoffed, "You are so pathetic. You could have ended this and gone free. Whatever held you back got you killed, remember that." He brushed the dirt off his clothes and looked down at Katara who in turn looked up at him and spit more blood to the ground. "No Zuko, when I die, my blood will be on your hands."

He tilted his head and wiped the blood off his face. He stared at the bright red color smeared over his hand, "I like the sound of that." He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her after him. "I hope you enjoyed your stint of freedom."

She moaned in pain and moved her hands from her throbbing stomach to her hair which she felt would tear out of her head. "I hope you die a miserable and lonely death you savage!"

"Yeah, yeah. Why don't you come up with something original." He picked up the small pack he made sure to bring with him before he left to chase his prey, and started their next march.

TWO HOURS LATER DARKNESS CONTINUED to engulf the surrounding forest. The only thing to prevent the darkness from totally consuming the captor and his captive was the gray light of the moon. A rough rope once again bound Katara's wrists and she tailed Zuko's fast pace across the terrain with a grimace gracing her once carefree face. She did not utter a word in all that time, not to ask for a break, or retaliate to his nasty orders or insults. Katara could barley manage to stand let alone compete in a battle of wits, so she concentrated all her effort on pressing onward and avoiding another beating.

Never in her life had every inch of her body hurt as it did at that moment. Getting punched in the gut or having her skin cut open was once thing, but getting torched alive was on a whole other level of cruel. Sure she had been burned by Zuko before, but his flames burned so much hotter than she could ever remember. She almost missed having Zuko drag her by the hair, at least it saved her the pain of walking on her feet and kept her head from swaying.

Eventually she lost the feeling in her feet, and when she began to lose control over her legs she knew she was in trouble. She couldn't help but to smile once the thought popped into her mind, they had hardly made any progress to wherever he would lock her away and now she couldn't walk—Zuko was completely lost to his emotions and acted out irrationally. He was emotionally compromised and distraught, which made him nothing more than a parasite thriving off her pain, well a lethal parasite. That weakness could serve as her one trump card, though she didn't know if she would live long enough to use it.

She could only guess at what insane and twisted misunderstandings were going through his head. He was a closed book. She looked at his back as her legs stopped obeying her brain, and only hoped he wouldn't act out again—she doubted she could live through another attack.

Zuko heard Katara stop moving and snapped an order at her without glancing back, "Pick up the pace." She could hear it in his tone—he sounded like he wanted her to retaliate so he could beat submission into her.

Katara bit her tongue to prevent her from telling him just how much she hated him and how she would rather be stabbed in the eyes than continue to obey his every command. She breathed heavily to catch her breath, and just as he started to turn she started moving her blistered feet again. Stopping was not an option.

More time passed, just under an hour, and suddenly Katara felt that stomach twisting sensation of falling. She started to panic when she looked at her legs and willed them to move, yet they didn't. She knew she wouldn't be able to continue this time around. '_This is it._' She started to have trouble focusing on the objects around her.

The grunt and crash had not escaped Zuko's attention, but he kept walking forward, assuming that she knew it was in her best interest to continue walking. He didn't hear a light pair of footsteps rejoin him soon enough and he spoke out, "I didn't say we were taking a break. Stand up."

Katara knew she was getting into yet another dangerous face-to-face, so she pushed herself up. Once the weight of her body shifted to her knees however, she collapsed again. "My legs aren't working." Her voice sounded different in her ears. Zuko caught the change as well.

"They work, you just need the right motivation." He approached closer and closer. The moonlight made his skin even paler than normal, which made his dark eyes and psychotic smile all the more prominent. The look of hatred in his eyes and enjoyment in his smile chilled her to the core.

"Really I can't, you burned my feet, they are too numb to support my weight." Katara tried to explain honestly, but Zuko didn't bother to listen.

"What." Zuko paced around her in a slow circle contemplating his next move. "To." What could make her suffer more, yet not kill her or impede her ability to walk too much? "Do." He almost got giddy in excitement, his inner demon came out to play and eagerly awaited to feast on Katara's will power.

Fear in Katara's eyes triggered another wave of exhilaration within him. He knew they hadn't traveled far enough to be safe, but he had an instinct that they would not be found. Honestly, he found himself not caring anymore. Katara cowered in his presence, and Zuko felt proud that he finally achieved that comfort level with her. He shrugged his shoulders, '_Following a plan is no fun.._.' He watched her face carefully, and by her expression, figured she must have seen the change in himself which he felt. Too bad she didn't know that her fearful eyes and uneasy voice were feeding flames to the fire.

Zuko stopped right behind her. He suddenly didn't care about anything other than hurting her at that moment. '_Ah to hell with it_.' He formed a small ball of fire in his fist, and without a warning, guided the flames so that the ball unraveled into a thin whip and lashed at her Katara's back. Suddenly a scream pierced the night air, but it was short lived as Katara clamped her mouth shut.

The fire whip burned through the rags she wore on her back while it simultaneously ripped through her flesh because the flames moved at such a great speed. He felt disappointed that he didn't get more of an audible reaction from her, the small scream was more akin to a gasp if anything. A foreign desire to break her took over him, but he liked it.

She could feel her skin burn to a crisp, her blood boil and evaporate, it felt like her back was liquefying. The whip tore through her back deep enough to the bone. Her face smashed into the dirt when her arms supporting her upper body crumpled beneath her and she fell prostrate. Pain spiraled throughout her body and she clutched her fists so tightly her nails dug into the palm of her hand and drew blood.

The pain initially dolled to her feet and neck paled in comparison to the white hot pain that ripped through her back. The smell of her own burning flesh made her want to gag, and shut her eyes tightly praying that she would pass out or die, either one. The smell of burning flesh mixed with a distinctly different smell too, singed hair. Fire spread across her back and continued to eat away at her flesh, long hair, and clothes.

'_Why_ _won't she make a sound?'_ Infuriated by her lack of response Zuko lashed her back once more. "I want to hear you scream Katara!" He yelled in frustration. He wasn't getting the thrill he had been telling himself he would have, and he didn't understand it. He didn't know how, but he had thought it would feel different slashing her and burning her flesh until her body was mangled and decrepit. These thoughts made him even angrier. Nothing ever worked out when it came to Katara. He knew it would be a mistake to continue, but he felt a growing need to feed the vengeance driven beast within him. "Scream damn you!" He would snap her like a twig.

Katara wordlessly shook her head in a negative response, and his eye twitched. '_She has the gall to refuse me?_' He prepared to whip her again, but stopped when she shakily stood up and started to walk down the path they were on previously. He felt like ice cold water had been dumped on him, she shouldn't be able to move.

She wasn't entirely conscious when she stood up, but she could hardly feel anything, it was surreal. She should still be on the ground writhing in pain, instead the places which had been in direct contact to the whip were completely numb. She felt so light. In reality, the fire had damaged her nerves too extensively for her to feel anything at all.

The unexplainable extreme fury within him dissipated instantaneously and he stared at her back which was blistered, leathery, blood red, and covered in charred skin. The lashes went to the bone and five inches of her hair had been burnt to a crisp. What was left of her tattered clothes barely hung on her frame. Even with all that damage, she limped on slowly without looking back at him. Zuko couldn't imagine the amount of strength and will power she had to just put one foot in front of the other. The resistance wasn't gone, but the fight in her—the courage to spit in his face or counter his remarks and call him names—was gone. A small flame still clung to her shirt and he exhaled and concentrated briefly to put it out.

Katara didn't notice, she didn't even know where she was walking. He had wanted her to walk, so she would walk, that was the only thought running around in her mind. Five seconds later, and only two feet away from where she started, she passed out and crashed to the ground. He was honestly surprised she was able to take two steps let alone stay conscious after the immediate pain, he had gone all out.

He didn't move. The warm light that had radiated from the orange flames during the attack disappeared and he was again shrouded by darkness and moonlight.

Looking at her burned and crumpled form, he felt nothing. There was an empty feeling inside him like that he _should_ feel sorry for her, like he would have at some point in the past, yet he held absolutely no remorse for his actions. However, the fact that he looked at her and didn't feel the need to rip her limb from limb made him anxious. He should have felt that, that burning hatred, it had been inside him before.

He went to his passed out prisoner. "Damn it!" He kicked her over on her back and she rolled over lifelessly. "I shouldn't have lost control like that." He ran his hand through his hair and stared at her. After some time he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. He didn't expect her to be so light, she probably weighed just under 110 pounds. Funny, he would have sworn she had been ten pounds heavier last time they were together. He mentally cursed at wondering such things.

He walked until the faintest amount of sun light lit up the night sky then promptly let her fall to the ground. By this time he was breathing heavily and was extremely tired. He didn't want Katara to fall victim to an infection, so he rubbed a burn serum on her exposed flesh, slapped some cloth on her, and then tied her upright to a tree. Well he justified treating her so he could punish her another day, but who's to say he didn't begin to have some conflicting emotions. After all that, she still didn't confess, she truly didn't seem to know of what he was accusing her. As long as he knew her, she had _never_ gotten away with lying to him. Though he had his doubts, Zuko laid down to get some sleep. It was a nice sentiment, but he hadn't slept for days and he would be sleeping tonight.

Could he be wrong? That was the only gut wrenching question which haunted him as he slipped into unconsciousness.

_"Katara." Katara opened her eyes and by some miracle Aang was standing right in front of her. She tried to run to him, but she was unable to move._

_"Aang! How did you get here? Where are we?" The environment was pure white as far as the eye could see. She looked up from where she sat to see her savior in all his yellow and orange glory._

_"You are dreaming Katara." Aang didn't smile when he spoke like usual and Katara's heart fell. This didn't feel like a normal dream to her, if felt spiritual—it was hard to describe. Maybe she and Aang were sharing a dream. Aang nodded his head in affirmation to her silent idea. _

_"Please, you have to save me!" Katara suddenly burst out and tears started to run down her face. "If I am with him any longer I…I won't be able to keep trying. Please Aang."_

_"I coming for you, but you have to hold on." He looked at her with sad and angry eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."_

_"Don't! This isn't your fault. It's Zuko's. It's all his fault. That monster!" She sobbed and looked down at the white abyss beneath her._

_He put his arm on her shoulder, but she didn't feel it."I promise I will find you. You have to promise to wait for me. Promise me you won't let him defeat you."_

_"Aang, I'm so scared! I've tried everything I can, and put on a brave face, but I can't outlast him. You have to save me!"_

_Aang got to his knees and pulled Katara to him in a tight embrace. "Promise me." She felt warmth spread through her and cried into his shoulder. "I promise." She blinked and in that moment he was gone and she was completely alone. Alone again. The warmth faded from her body and instead she felt pain almost everywhere take its place. The invisible floor beneath her fell through and she dropped down into the nothingness._

Katara blinked a couple times and vaguely realized she had fallen forward into the dirt. She looked up to find almost normal looking Zuko, the evil possessed look in his face from the night before was gone.

By the time he had woken up from a restless sleep it was late in the afternoon and time to walk. When he untied her, her body was utterly limp and he frowned as he saw her struggle to lift her head from the earth. He didn't feel like carrying her a second time, he was tired and a small part of him just wanted everything to be over. "Why should I continue to draw this out?" He didn't expect her to reply. He had his answer anyway.

But Katara thought about his question. As much as she wanted to deny it, she had made a promise to Aang. Though it would be so much easier to end everything now, she had to live. She would fight because he asked her to.

She opened her mouth, yet no words came out. With every fiber of her being she tried to talk herself out of it, but she tried again as she began to slip from consciousness, "I thought you wanted to watch me squirm…Zuzu."

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A/n: To all my all of my followers/favoriters, thank you for your support! And a special thank you to the few who take the time to tell me what they think about my story. I put quite a bit of work into all my stories, so your recognition and sweet comments always make my day :)

_Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, I posted an Avatar fanfiction on this site, and people seemed to like it, heck some even reviewed. Then everything changed when the author dropped off the face of the earth and neglected the story. Only the reviews of her lovely readers kept her writing, but when they wanted an update most, she failed to post. Too long past and I finally updated. Apparently I have a lot to learn, because this started out as some spiel to get reviews, but I now realize this is stupid and wouldn't convince anyone. Just... never mind, it's late. Regardless of my stupidity, I always love to see a review in my inbox!_


	4. Respite

**Respite**

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Soft light from a rising sun drifted into a small, stone cell through a window about a foot long and seven inches high. Even fainter than the light drifting in from the outside was the light creeping in from beyond a big and heavy metal door. The floor was cold and rough, and a rancid smell hung in the air. Other than these physical attributes there was something else disturbing about the room, not the evil presence like she had felt before when she was around Zuko, but there was definitely some aura indiscernible to Katara.

Her cheek was freezing cold from lying on the stone for what felt like hours, but that was the least of her problems. Her stomach ached, her head was throbbing, her feet stung, the wrists were sore, her arms and legs were stiff, and part of her back felt like she had a run in with a psychotic butcher. Katara tried to sit up, but she felt too weak and hungry, so she laid there for five minutes trying to get the nerve to move again. It made it even more difficult since her wrists were tied to a large iron ring bolted into the floor at the base of the wall opposite the door. Eventually she shifted around until she was able to slide up to an uncomfortable sitting position.

She was disoriented, but guessed she had been asleep for more than a day because of how stiff she was. Her eyes fell to her arms and legs, and even in the poor lighting, she could see they were bruised deep purple and black colors and in other places her skin was scraped, burned, and red. The mere sight of her tender burned feet made her wince. Her back had almost slipped her mind until she leaned against the cold stone behind her and strangely felt nothing in many areas across her back, everywhere else felt like hell. She vaguely realized that she wore the same tattered clothing.

A noise creaked somewhere in the immediate area and Katara jumped. Footsteps then began to make their way down the hall with a loud echoing noise.

"Zuko's coming." She whispered and struggled to get out of her restraints, she would feel so much better if only she could do something as simple as wrap her arms around her stomach or hide her face.

The memory started to come back to Katara when she thought about who was coming for her. She shut her eyes to try and forcefully block herself from reliving the excruciating experience again. It was no use. The pain came back full force and she could hear Zuko yelling at her to scream, she could feel his wrath pouring out in torrents. She felt the same hopelessness and desire to die and her body shook. There was a rattling at the door and she continued to fight against her bindings. _  
_

Katara's eyes snapped open when she heard the door open and she saw Zuko walk in with his swords drawn. The swords were glowing light orange, almost white, with heat and her animal instincts were in full fight mode. She yanked her arms from side to side and twisted her wrists to try to slip free. It happened so fast, she could hardly react in time. She screamed when he dashed for her with his swords bearing down upon her.

She heard her scream die out in the stale air and opened her eyes fearfully to see what had stopped the attack. Zuko wasn't attacking her, he wasn't even there. Her heart pounded in her ears and she was breathing so fast she felt faint. Her wrists felt like someone had rubbed them harshly against gravel for an hour straight. '_What just happened?_'

When she moved she felt something touch her face and jumped again. It had only been a piece of her hair that fell across her nose. She told herself to get a grip, but nothing could squash the terrifying notion that Zuko could come through the heavy door at any moment. It was bound to happen.

She thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked into the farthest corner of the cell all she saw were dark shadows. She sighed in relief and let her head fall back against the wall. If she didn't calm down she would most likely faint from psyching herself out and failing to breathe efficiently.

She wondered how she ended up here in this cell, judging by the superficial scrapes it looks like she had been dragged at some point along the way. In the end, it looked like Zuko had brought her here. Boy did she want to cut out his black heart and watch him bleed dry, to put it lightly.

There was a shuffling sound that came from the corner Katara thought she had just seen something move again. She slowly looked over but there was still nothing there. That area of the room didn't feel right, it was the only place she couldn't see, at least partially. She felt her eyes start to water and pulled her legs to her stomach and rested her head on her knees. It was horribly uncomfortable to put any pressure on her feet, but she felt too exposed otherwise. She tried to block out the noise by humming an old lullaby her mother used to sing to her.

"Katara." Her name floated across the room and she went stiff. She waited a minute and she didn't hear the soft and light voice again. She started to consider that she went insane. She had been seeing things and hearing noises, it was natural to hear her name too. As she continued to think about the voice, it seemed to become more and more familiar to her. But that was natural too, if she were hearing voices in her head, it would make sense for them to belong to people she knew. Yeah it was natural hallucinate given the circumstances, '_No it's not!_' She couldn't kid herself.

It is such a terrible thing to feel exposed to something that watches from in the shadows. There is a desire to know what is out there, but the fear is so petrifying, that resigning to what fate has in store seems better to follow. The only other way to escape it to block out the terrible thoughts completely, of course as we all know that almost always never works.

"Go away, go away." Katara started to chant to herself, "I'm imagining things." '_No one is in that corner and Zuko's not about to come in that door_. _You are safe. Safe. Aang is on his way._' No matter how much she repeated this, she failed to feel even the slightest comfort. '_Just look over there and you will see that nothing is there._' She didn't have the courage to actually look though. She heard her name again and she pulled her legs closer to her body and slowly rocked back and forth. "Leave me alone."

The sky visible in the window started to brighten into a pale dark blue color. The sun would over the horizon soon. She wasn't able to notice it though with her head pressed against her knees.

"What is he going to do to me? Kami I don't want to hurt anymore, I can't. Aang please hurry." Speaking out loud filled the silence, and while she didn't have to wonder what made every little sound, filling the silence hardly helped. "Zuko can't be forgiven for this, he doesn't deserve to live after everything he's done. Why can't he just leave me alone. I want to leave, I want to go home."

A very loud, very clear, very real sound interrupted Katara's ramblings. A cough from the corner of the room. Someone _had_ been watching her. She prayed that she was imagining things again.

Instead of the dark she thought would be hovering in the corner, she saw more light had filtered into the cell to reveal Zuko standing there with one leg propped up against the wall and his shoulders on either side of a corner. His arms were crossed over his chest and his hair fell over his face messily. His piercing gold eyes had been watching her, the entire time. He was the cause of the disturbing feeling in the room, the feeling of being watched. He had a frown on his face until his eyes met Katara's and the frown turned to a firm line.

Faint traces of sun lit up the sky outside allowing the two to see each other more clearly.

"Stop imagining things Katara!" She berated herself and hit her head against her knees.

"You must have some dark and twisted imagination." Zuko mused. He stayed where he stood.

Her shoulders hunched and she looked over to him again. '_This is real, don't lose it._' "I'd rather have a dark and twisted imagination than a dark and twisted face." Normally she would have refrained from saying something so stupid, but she was too terrified, he seemed to like her comment though.

"Nice." He didn't laugh, but it seemed like he almost had.

The conversation was too weird, it threw her off kilter and she didn't know how to respond. Every time they had exchanged any words recently they were spit angrily at each other, but now the atmosphere was casual. She considered that Zuko was just working a new angle to torment her. "Sokka rubs off on me."

"That's the danger of spending too much time with a person."

"Maybe, if I'm lucky, you will become more like me and release me." She was already treading on testy waters, why not take it a step further.

"From the sound of it, _I_ seem to be rubbing off on _you._ I don't think I have ever heard you say that someone doesn't deserve to live. That's a big step Katara. Congratulations."

"Well I had never met anyone as cruel as you."

"That hurts right here." He patted the left side of his chest. "You shouldn't have been naïve enough to forgive me twice."

"I would do it again, if I weren't already one-hundred percent sure you would never try to seek forgiveness." Katara realized how weak that statement make her look, however, if it came down to it, she didn't doubt she might find it in herself to forgive him. She saw how sad he was and that he was acting on misguided information and emotion. Over the many days they had traveled together, she had grown close with him, she didn't want to see him go. Which confused her even more, because he had almost killed her, she should even consider wanting to keep him around.

Zuko didn't respond immediately, when he did his voice was tense, "Don't you ever quit?"

"Quit?" She wasn't quite sure what he was talking about.

"This need to find the good in everyone, your irrational justifications for forgiving a person."

"It's who I have chosen to be. Even though you have betrayed me yet again, I don't regret forgiving you this last time. You were good at one point. I don't know what happened to screw you up again though." It was hard for her to admit it, but it was true, the time they spent together, though not intimate, was special. He seemed to understand her more than anyone else ever had. Before she had the benefit of not knowing him when he betrayed her at first, this time around he had her trapped and she couldn't simply let go again.

"Ha. You are the one who betrayed me." He didn't raise his voice, instead he held a melancholy tone.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked hesitantly.

"Huh?"

"Being here, having a civil conversation. I thought you wanted to torture me."

"Don't get me wrong. I will in due time, because unlike you I don't have a heart made out of rainbows, but I'm not in the mood now."

If that comment didn't cause for skepticism, then Katara didn't know what would. "Is that a fact."

He shrugged his shoulders. '_Actually I don't feel much of anything_.'

"You're in pain aren't you?" He asked and Katara looked at him like he had three heads.

"Could you tell by the way I can't even sit up on my own or how my skin has boiled off."

He held his hands up defensively. "Man, I was just asking. You never were a morning person. Well you weren't a night person either. I guess you never were pleasant to be around." He smiled at his own joke.

"Ha-ha. Please stop, I might laugh to death."

She tried to shift around, but if she so much as twitched her arms, the ropes cut into her wrists like knives. A grunt passed her lips, as shes moved her legs beside her and to rest them on the ground.

Zuko didn't say anything, but a weird expression crossed over his face. "What you're not feeling guilty are you? You've gone this far, you can't back out now."

"No." It was the truth, "but I just-"

"Just what?" Katara was getting tired of talking with him, though it did beat the alternative.

"Nevermind." He pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the helpless girl on the ground. She pushed herself as far away as she could when he got near, like a small animal afraid of being hit again.

He burned the rope bindings off and set a large canister of water beside her.

"And what are you trying to do?" Katara was almost scared to ask.

"You've been out for three days, and need to recover if you are going to live for much longer." He headed to the door. "You're bending will work again, but I suggest you use the water to heal yourself instead of doing something stupid."

"So that's why you aren't hurting me anymore."

He raised his voice. "Don't think things can ever go back to the way they were. This means nothing. Nothing has changed and nothing will. Even if I didn't want to cut the flesh off your body pound by pound, I wouldn't care if you lived or died."

Katara frowned. "Trust me, I know."

The door opened then slammed behind him and locked.

Her body began to feel tired again, but she weakly moved her hand to the water canister. She was in way too much pain to even think of using for anything other than drinking or healing herself.

The scars would never go away, she knew the serious wounds were too deep, but she tried as best she could to shakily bend the water around her skin. The strain of bending and the pain caused her to pass out. At least she could dream free and easy for the next day with the knowledge that Zuko wanted her healed.


End file.
